Directed by Trevor Juenger and starring Oberst, Jr.,(whom you may remember as the creepy psycho from the TAKETHISLOLLIPOP interactive short film) along with Bill Finkbiner, Victoria Mullen and Tasha Zebrowski, COYOTE is an art-house horror film that looks very intriguing. For some insight into the film, check out the Coyote Production Blog website.

From the Press Release:

The first trailer for Coyote from director Trevor Juenger has been released. In the film Bill Oberst, Jr., plays an insomniac writer whose sleep-deprived hallucinations distort reality until his paranoia leads him to extreme violence.

St. Louis-based director Trevor Juenger wrote the script for the micro-budget feature with Oberst in mind and flew the actor to the Midwest for a month of filming during the worst heat wave in decades. Oberst says “That script was brutal, raw, explicit and offensive. The shoot was even more so. This film won’t be for everyone. But Juenger reminds me so much of a young Lynch with a dash of Cronenberg that I had to work him. I couldn’t resist. We did this with no money, only passion for the experiment.”

Of his lead actor Juenger says, “I was listening to an interview with Bill Oberst, Jr., today where he said his best asset is keeping quiet. Well, I have to disagree. I like a belligerent, aggressive, maniacal Bill Oberst, Jr., screaming and threatening people. That’s the strength. I don’t think real mental illness is a quiet one. Bill embodies the abusive dad, boyfriend, or whatever misogynistic ugliness you experienced growing up. You can’t stand up to him when he’s on the screen. Instead, he leaves you like a battered housewife, exhausted and helpless, yet attracted to the abuse.”

Coyote is an attempt to blend the art-house genre, in which Juenger has primarily worked, with horror. The director admits it is a risky experiment: “If this is a horror movie (everyone assures me it is), it’s unlike any horror film I’ve seen. I think we used the horror fundamentals that fit, and then threw away the book. Good, bad, revolting, or brilliant, I can’t quite say. I can say it’s something fresh though. Someone called it David Lynch directs Falling Down. As much as I hate the Lynch comparisons, I thought that was fitting. It’s what I wanted to see. I hope you feel the same.”